Sold for: $46,800

PROVENANCE
The Art Emporium, Vancouver, 1973
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Robert Ayre, “A Sheaf of Summer Sketches”, Canadian Art, Volume XIII, Winter, 1956, page 228
Dennis Reid, Canadian Jungle, The Later Work of Arthur Lismer, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985, page 53

In 1951, Arthur Lismer discovered a new painting place when he traveled to Vancouver Island, exploring Long Beach on its west coast, as well as Galiano, Pender and Saltspring Islands. The West Coast made such an impact that he returned over 16 summers, painting both shore and inner forest. Robert Ayre described Lismer’s experience at Wickaninnish at Long Beach: “Lismer swims and catches crabs, paints and helps Joe cut trails through the jungle, choked with salal, ground sumac and skunk cabbage. You could get lost in the dense tropical growth of the cedar swamps.” The huge trees on the coast captured Lismer’s imagination, as did Emily Carr’s depictions of them; he stated, “I’m always expecting Emily Carr to appear from behind a tree.”

In Shafts of Light in the BC Forest, a cathedral-like forest is lit from within by shafts of warm light that spill over a forest floor further illuminated by splashes of pink and orange. Lismer’s bold brush-strokes and textural approach to paint serve to further emphasize the power of the trees and the vigour of the West Coast rain forest.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars